Excerpt: ...EC are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE. EVIDENTIARY MATTERS Both IEC and Mateos have filed objections to the other party's supporting evidence. The Court rules on these objections as follows. I. Mateos's Objections to McKaig Declaration These objections are overruled in their entirety. In particular, those objections raised under the sham declaration doctrine do not identify actual direct conflicts between deposition testimony and declaration testimony....

Excerpt: ...laintiff argues the Court should not consider IMC's demurrer because it is untimely. In reply, IMC argues that it has never been properly served, so there is no deadline for it to respond to the FAC. The Court agrees. The Court's register of actions shows a Doe amendment filed on June 23. The Doe amendment included a proof of service indicating that it had been electronically served on counsel for defendants The Irvine Company, LLC (“TIC”) an...

Excerpt: ... no dispute that Defendants, whose demurrer was sustained without leave to amend, are the prevailing party in this matter. Recoverable costs are set forth in CCP § 1033.5, which defines allowable, non-allowable and discretionary costs. (Id., § 1033.5(a), (b), (c)(4).) Allowable and discretionary costs may be recovered only if “reasonably necessary to the conduct of the litigation rather than merely convenient or beneficial to its preparation....

Excerpt: ...ions. As summarized in The Rutter Group, California Practice Guide: Civil Procedure Before Trial § 10.51.1: “The pleadings serve as the ‘outer measure of materiality' in a summary judgment motion, and the motion may not be granted or denied on issues not raised by the pleadings. [Laabs v. City of Victorville (2008) 163 CA4th 1242, 1258, 78 CR3d 372, 386; Nieto v. Blue Shield of Calif. Life & Health Ins. Co. (2010) 181 CA4th 60, 74, 103 CR3d ...

Excerpt: .... As to the Settlement: 1. Other than Garcia v. Optima Tax Relief, LLC, No. 19-01082473, are there any actions pending against Defendant (whether individual, class, or PAGA, including PAGA actions in the pre-filing LWDA stage) that could be affected by this settlement? 2. The Court is confused by the use of three separate dates as cutoffs for class membership, the class period and the escalator clause. The Court understands that the “Class,” ...

Excerpt: ...D to November 20, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. in Department CX104. Defendants BA Hotel & Resort, LLC; Mona10, Inc.; and Patricia Pham may file a supplemental brief and any supporting papers by no later than November 6, 2020. The City may file a responsive supplemental brief and any supporting papers by no later than November 13, 2020. I. Background Defendants' prior counsel, Dina Nguyen, was placed on medical leave at the advice of her treating medical pro...

Excerpt: ...to compel, and the motion is DENIED AS MOOT insofar as it seeks to require that this information be turned over. The Court reminds Defendants of their obligations under the Court's prior order (ROA 137), which required them to serve further discovery responses, including the production of voluminous non-anonymized data, within 30 days of the opt-out deadline. The Court agrees with Plaintiffs, however, that Defendants' conduct with respect to the ...

Excerpt: ... two reasons for the continuance. First, the Application is continued due to lack of service on the relevant property owners. The instant application seeks an order against the owners of property located at 2201 and 2205 South Standard Avenue in Santa Ana, California. While the prior Application heard on August 14, 2020 was served on non-parties McFarlane Properties, LLC and Standard Avenue, LLC via both their Agents for Service of Process and Co...

Excerpt: ...ce Company, et al. (Following the Moving Defendants' naming conventions, the Court refers to the Moving Defendants collectively as “Rubin” and the Relators collectively as “Allstate.”) For the reasons set forth below, the motion is DENIED. Allstate's request for attorney's fees, made in opposition, is also DENIED. EVIDENTIARY MATTERS Allstate's Objections to 1 st Rubin Declaration (ROA 70): OVERRULED in their entirety. Rubin's Objections ...

Excerpt: ...s must be submitted as well. As to the Settlement: 1. Per the parties' initial case management statement (ROA 47), Plaintiff had a separate lawsuit against Defendant in Los Angeles Superior Court (Billberry v. Hardy Window Company, No. 18STCV05043) in which he brought discrimination and wrongful termination claims. The online docket for the individual action reflects a request for dismissal filed on December 31, 2019. Did Plaintiff's individual a...

Excerpt: ... in Le v. CashCall, Inc., No. 14-00724582 are entitled to res judicata effect. At the hearing, the parties are to discuss the effect this finding will have on Plaintiffs' sole remaining claim for PAGA penalties. CashCall's request for judicial notice (ROA 776) is granted. The LWDA's objections thereto (ROA 792) are overruled. On its own motion, the Court proposes to take judicial notice of the file in Le. (Evid. Code § 455.) I. Background The Co...

Excerpt: ...or judicial notice (“RJN,” ROA 49) is GRANTED. I. Factual and Legal Background A. The FDA Approval Process Corcept's demurrer focuses heavily on the argument that federal preemption bars Plaintiff's claims relating to Korlym, a drug manufactured by Corcept. (FAC, ¶ 3.) A brief explanation of the FDA approval process therefore is necessary to provide context. No new drug may be sold or marketed in the United States unless it has been approved...

Excerpt: ...a, and Javier Terrazas (“Plaintiffs”). Defendants Sodexo, Inc. and SodexoMAGIC, LLC (collectively “Sodexo”) join in Disney's demurrer. For the reasons set forth below, the demurrer is OVERRULED. A. EVIDENTIARY MATTERS I. Judicial Notice of Agreements Central to this matter are two development agreements entered into by Disney and other entities: an Infrastructure and Parking Finance Agreement (the “Finance Agreement”), dated October 8...

Excerpt: ...public entity, is not required to post a bond. (CCP § 995.220.) Because the Court grants the City's request for a preliminary injunction, it does not decide whether defendants are entitled to injunctive relief. EVIDENTIARY MATTERS The parties' requests for judicial notice all appear to be unopposed. These requests are GRANTED. The City and Cardenas have filed evidentiary objections to various supporting declarations. The Court rules on these obj...

Excerpt: ...amount of $3,454. These sanctions are payable to Plaintiff no later than September 21, 2020. In addition, the final approval hearing in this matter is continued to December 11, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. in Department CX104. I. Relevant Factual Background A. The Settlement After the parties reached a settlement of this wage-and-hour class action, Plaintiff moved for preliminary approval on July 1, 2019. In a minute order dated July 26, 2019, the Court ide...

Excerpt: ...have until September 21, 2020 to file an amended complaint that addresses the concerns identified below. I. Background This is a toxic tort exposure case. Plaintiff Javier Avila Garcia was a warehouse worker in Orange County from 1986 through 2018. (Compl., ¶ 8.) In July 2018, he was diagnosed with plasmacytoma. (Compl., ¶ 12.) He alleges his plasmacytoma was caused by occupational exposure to Defendants' products, which contained carcinogenic ...

Excerpt: ... status conference with respect to the progress of the arbitrations shall take place on February 24, 2021 at 8;30 a.m. A joint status conference statement shall be filed on or before February 17, 2021. Plaintiffs are former employees of Defendant. Each signed different versions of a mutual arbitration agreement upon hiring—McCoy-Darden's provided for arbitration before JAMS, while Gomez-Luna's provided for arbitration before the AAA. (See Lamar...

Excerpt: ...ross-Complainant Brookhurst Town Center, LLC's Motion for an Order Compelling Cross-Defendant Newmark of Southern California, Inc. to Respond to Brookhurst Town Center, LLC's Form Interrogatories and for Monetary Sanctions 4) Defendant and Cross-Complainant Brookhurst Town Center LLC's Motion for an Order that Matters in Requests for Admission Served on Cross-Defendant Glenn Rudy be Deemed Admitted and Imposing Monetary Sanctions 5)Defendant and ...

Excerpt: ...§1822.50 et seq. is DENIED without prejudice to a properly supported Application. An inspection warrant shall issue “upon cause, unless some other provision of state or federal law makes another standard applicable.” (CCP § 1822.51). Within the Reply, Plaintiff asserts the applicable standard is articulated in California Water App. §40-8 which provides that the District “determines [the inspection] to be necessary and appropriate to dete...

Excerpt: ...fendant Orange Coast will pay off the approximately $64,000 remaining on Plaintiffs' loans from Defendants Ally and Gateway, giving Plaintiffs free and clear title to their two vehicles. (Barry Decl. (ROA 600), ¶ 15.) The parties stipulated that Plaintiffs could seek fees and costs against Orange Coast only. (Compendium of Evidence (ROA 599), Ex. 3.) Plaintiffs' operative 4AC includes an individual cause of action under the CLRA. “The court sh...

Excerpt: ...EVIDENTIARY MATTERS Ford seeks judicial notice of two decisions of the United States District Court for the Central District of California regarding fee awards in Song-Beverly Act matters litigated by Plaintiff's counsel. Ford also seeks judicial notice of the reply briefs in support of the fee motions in those cases. (See ROA 449.) These unopposed requests for notice of court records are GRANTED. Plaintiff has filed objections (ROA 458) to the d...

Excerpt: ...lier, on January 8, 2020, Linden was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court. (Skibbe Decl. (ROA 30), Ex. A.) The operative FAC in this action (ROA 8) and the operative FAC in Linden (Furuta Decl. (ROA 47), Ex. A) contain substantially identical allegations. From the Court's review of the two cases, the only non- overlapping allegations are (1) this case alleges unreimbursed business expenses, while Linden does not, and (2) Linden alleges a PA...

Excerpt: ...urt's ruling on the accompanying motion to strike to file a fourth amended complaint, with the scope of permitted amendment limited as set forth below. To be clear, Plaintiff shall not file a fourth amended complaint until after receipt of the Court's ruling on the motion to strike. I. Factual Background Plaintiff owned a condominium in Aliso Viejo. The condominium secured a loan from Wells Fargo. (TAC, ¶¶ 27-28.) In June 2015, Plaintiff defaul...

Excerpt: ...Estela v. Pacific Dental Services, LLC, San Diego County SC No. 37-2020-00010251-CU-OE-NC. Defendant's initial request for judicial notice (ROA 21) and Plaintiff's request for judicial notice (ROA 28) are both unopposed, and both requests are GRANTED. Defendant also makes an unopposed request for judicial notice of a decision of the San Diego County Superior Court in an unrelated matter. (ROA 32.) This request, which seeks notice of the decision ...

Excerpt: ...onse period for both requests extends from October 10, 2017 to April 2, 2018. As to RFP 15 only, the response period is further limited to cover only records from days Plaintiff actually worked, and Plaintiff may redact the phone numbers associated with personal calls, texts or other messages. Finally, as to both requests, Plaintiff may designate her production confidential under the existing protective order. I. Background As relevant here, this...

Excerpt: ...l. The Court does not reach any other questions about the releases, such as their legal effect or their enforceability. I. Factual Background This is a wage-and-hour class/PAGA action. The parties attended mediation on January 24, 2020 but failed to reach a settlement. (Young Decl. (ROA 78), ¶ 5.) After the mediation, Defendant began to offer Pick Up Stix settlements to putative class members. (Id., ¶ 6; see Chindarah v. Pick Up Stix, Inc. (200...

Excerpt: ...te compensation system for its courier drivers. Plaintiffs seek to represent a class dating back four years from the filing of the underlying Quijada action in Santa Clara County Superior Court. Defendant contends a court-approved settlement in Kostyuk v. Golden State Overnight Delivery Service, Inc., Alameda County Superior Court Case No. RG14727191, bars all claims prior to December 17, 2016. Defendant therefore moves to strike the following la...

Excerpt: ...of the arbitration. The Court sets an arbitration review conference for January 28, 2021 at 8:30 a.m. in Department CX104. Plaintiff was employed by GHOH as a Director of Operations. (FAC ¶ 10.) She alleges that Kreitner, GHOH's CEO, pressured her to fraudulently inflate her billing so that GHOH could receive increased grant money. Plaintiff alleges that she refused to inflate her billing as Kreitner requested and that she was terminated in reta...

Excerpt: ...employee of Respondent Regional Water Quality Control Board, Santa Ana Region (“Regional Board”), and (2) the issuance of a records subpoena to the Regional Board. Petitioners' motion is DENIED in all respects. However, at the hearing, the parties should be prepared to address whether the AR should be supplemented to include documents referenced in AR116 to the extent that they are not already part of the AR. The Court additionally notes that...

Excerpt: ...fs seek summary adjudication of the following issues: 1. Defendant's wage statements violate Labor Code § 226 in two ways. First, the wage statements do not list the number of piece-rate units earned and the applicable piece rates. Second, the wage statements improperly state an employee's “Hourly Pay” (defined below) rather than the regular rate of pay. 2. Defendant improperly calculates the regular rate of pay for overtime purpose in two w...

Excerpt: ...xhibits A and B to the conditionally sealed notice of lodging (ROA 102). (Although the motion is signed only by Plaintiffs' counsel, the notice of motion states that “the parties move” for a sealing order. See ROA 101 at p. 1.) In a subsequently filed notice of errata (ROA 106), the parties also ask that the Mangan Declaration (ROA 98) be permanently sealed, and that it be replaced in the public file with a redacted declaration attached to th...

Excerpt: ...parties' familiarity with the factual background of the JVS Development-related cases. The allegations set forth below are those necessary to the resolution of this motion, and they are taken from the pleadings in both the WRW and ARC actions. WRW and ARC both arise from a series of allegedly fraudulent real estate transactions carried out by Vinh Phan, his associates, and related entities, including JVS Development, LLC and Amerilink Escrow, Inc...

Excerpt: ...LLC; Pacific Bells, Inc.; and World Wide Wings, LLC (“Defendants”) move to compel further responses to special interrogatories and requests for production propounded on Plaintiff Roberto Lopez. (ROAs 318, 324.) These motions, which Plaintiff does not oppose, are GRANTED as set forth below. Further responses are to be served by February 24, 2020. Plaintiff and his counsel, Henry M. Lee, are jointly and severally sanctioned in the amount of $5,...

Excerpt: ...is ruling is that only remaining claim in the lawsuit is the first cause of action for breach of contract. I. Evidentiary Objections A. Plaintiff's Objections Plaintiff filed a document entitled “Plaintiff's Objections to Defendant's Evidence.” (ROA 363.) The Court has reviewed these objections, which are not actually objections to evidence, and do not comply with CRC 3.1354(b). The rule requires the objecting party to identify items of evide...

Excerpt: ... cause of action is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. Defendants' request for judicial notice of Plaintiff's pre-filing letter to the LWDA, made in the reply papers, is GRANTED. Although not directly relevant to this motion, the Court is disturbed by Defendants' counsel's pronouncement that she will not communicate with Plaintiff's counsel except in writing. Beyond the fact that oral communication is required for certain meet and confer obligations (e...

Excerpt: ...ns must be submitted as well. Any revised agreement and/or notice must also be served on the LWDA. 1. The Court continues to have major concerns with the class definition vis-à-vis the Arteaga matter. Counsel explains that the class in the present case —limited to mechanics in Redlands—was designed to fix a problem with respect to persons inadvertently excluded from the Arteaga class. This, per counsel, is why the settlement class is so much...

Excerpt: ...l, Inc. is SUSTAINED WITHOUT LEAVE TO AMEND. This matter arises from several actions taken by the Regional Board regarding the remediation of a property located on Armstrong Avenue in Irvine. Petitioners seek a writ of mandate setting aside those actions. The operative Amended Petition (ROA 23) contains two causes of action: first, administrative mandamus under CCP § 1094.5, and second, traditional mandamus under CCP § 1085. The Regional Board ...

Excerpt: ...ank (“FFB”) against BNY Mellon. The parties' unopposed requests for judicial notice are GRANTED. I. Factual Background A. The Lindsay Judgment and This Action This case and the related matters ultimately arise from transactions involving a property known as Stoneridge in the Coachella Valley. Plaintiffs Michael LaMelza and Villa Rossa, LLC sued Sam Lindsay, J. Robert Gilroy, First West-DHS Partners, LP, and First West Capital Corporation for ...

Excerpt: ...hat is, fees available through Defendants' victory on the 2006 NDA claims. Because the 2006 NDA is governed by Oregon law (ROA 167, Ex. A, at § 10.4), the Court ordered supplemental briefing on Oregon law governing contractual fee awards and its application in this case. The 2006 NDA provides that the “prevailing party” is entitled to “reasonable” attorney's fees. (ROA 167, Ex. A, at § 10.3.) Under Oregon law, for purposes of a fee awar...

Excerpt: ...2019 (ROA 162) and the revised notice attached as Exhibit 4 to the Campbell Declaration of October 11, 2019 (ROA 190). The motion for final approval shall be heard on July 10, 2020 in Department CX104. Moving papers are due 16 court days before the hearing. Please submit a revised proposed order that includes the date of the final approval hearing and updates all dates that are calculated in reference to the date preliminary approval is granted. ...

Excerpt: ...5 th Rock, LLC and EXP U.S. Services, Inc.) is GRANTED. Drum's application for determination of good faith settlement is DENIED. I. Factual Background In the complaint in this construction defect action, the current owner of the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego, T-12 Three, LLC, sued both Turner (the general contractor on the hotel project) and 5 th Rock (the prior owner of the hotel, and the party that hired Turner to build the hotel) for defect-rel...

Excerpt: ...for Production, Set One; and Request for Sanctions Against Defendant IEC Corporation and Its Attorneys of Record, Call & Jensen, in the Amount of $3,210.00 4)Defendants IEC Corporation and United Education Institute's Motion to Compel Plaintiff Richard Mateos' Further Responses to Requests for Admissions Before the Court are four motions to compel further responses discovery, each of which requests sanctions. The Court rules on each of the four m...

Excerpt: ...anges, deletions, and additions must be submitted as well. Late papers will not be accepted. 1. The current version of the settlement agreement provides, at ¶ 44, that settlement payments “shall be secured by a lien against all of the Defendant's assets, junior only to the existing line in favor of Bank of the West.” Included as Exhibit B to the current version of the settlement is the security agreement that creates this lien. Section 1 of ...

Excerpt: ...ant DRSS-1 LLC's First Amended Cross- Complaint Against Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board and Orange County Water District 4) Cross-Defendant Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board's Notice of Demurrer and Demurrer to Defendant DRSS-1's First Amended Cross-Complaint 5) Defendant/Cross-Complainant DRSS-1, LLC and Defendant GE Aviation Systems, LLC's Motion to Sever and Stay the Orange County Water District's Claims Against DRS...

Excerpt: ... interest that overcomes the right of public access to the record.” Rule 2.550(d)(1). The Court is unaware of any case in which sealing of a damages allegation or a cause of action not involving confidential or private information has been allowed. Defendants fail to point to anything comparable to the types of disclosures that California courts have found to qualify as “overriding interests.” (See, e.g., NBC Subsidiary (KNBC TV), Inc. v. S...

Excerpt: ...equest for judicial notice of the FAC in this action (ROA 25) is GRANTED. Plaintiff's evidentiary objections to the declaration of Albert Reynaldo (ROA 38) are OVERRULED. The discrepancies Plaintiff identifies between Mr. Reynaldo's declaration filed in support of the present petition (ROA 16) and his subsequent deposition testimony (Hatcher Decl. (ROA 39), Ex. A) go to weight, not admissibility. I. Factual Background A. Plaintiff's Hiring On Feb...

Excerpt: ...ndi R Schwartz's Motion Compelling Defendant American General Life Insurance Company to Produce Further Documents in Response to Plaintiff's Document Demands 4) Plaintiff Sindi R Schwartz's Motion For Order Compelling Defendant American General Life Insurance Company to Produce Unredacted Emails Produced at Deposition in Response to Plaintiff's Document Demands Plaintiff Sindi R. Schwartz originally had four discovery motions (ROAs 288, 293, 304,...

Excerpt: ...ettlement agreement and/or proposed notice is submitted, a redline version showing all changes, deletions and additions must be submitted as well, including proof of service of the revised agreement on the LWDA Per the supplemental briefing, Plaintiff's valuation was based on a maximum exposure of $821,444, which was in turn based on alleged Labor Code violations affecting 65 employees over the period from August 15, 2015 to October 2016. The pre...

Excerpt: ...urt assumes the parties' familiarity with the background of this long-running matter. This ruling sets forth only the facts necessary to dispose of the present motion. Through this motion, Cross-Defendants seek to recover an additional $926,000 in attorney's fees, which are broken down into three categories: “(1) attorney's fees incurred by Child and Amberhill, but not previously awarded, defending against claims concerning the SRA and claims f...

Excerpt: ...l notice is GRANTED. Defendant has filed evidentiary objections (ROA 73) to Plaintiff's declaration in support of her opposition (ROA 68). Objections 1 and 3 are SUSTAINED. Objections 2 and 4 are OVERRULED. GROUNDS FOR RULING This is a putative wage-and-hour class/PAGA action in which Plaintiff alleges she and other employees of Defendant were regularly forced to work off the clock and were denied meal and rest breaks. She brings substantive clai...

Excerpt: ...quest to strike Plaintiffs' class allegations is DENIED. Defendants failed to file a properly noticed motion to strike the class allegations under CCP § 435, instead requesting such relief only in the memorandum in support of their demurrer. As to the 4 th, 5 th and 6 th causes of action, Plaintiffs have sufficiently alleged violations under the applicable Labor Code provisions. The fact that Plaintiffs provide no specifics supporting those clai...

Excerpt: ... seal. A court may order a record to be filed under seal only if it expressly finds facts establishing: 1) There exists an overriding interest that overcomes the right of public access to the record; 2) The overriding interest supports sealing the record; 3) A substantial probability exists that the overriding interest will be prejudiced if the record is not sealed; 4) The proposed sealing is narrowly tailored; and 5) No less restrictive means ex...

Excerpt: ...orney's fees. Each party shall be permitted to file one supplemental brief, not longer than 8 pages, by January 17, 2020. No replies to the supplemental briefs will be permitted. The continued hearing will take place on January 31, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. in Department CX104. Grounds for Ruling After a jury entered a verdict in Plaintiff's favor in this trade secret dispute, Defendants prevailed on a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. Def...

Excerpt: ...RANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART as follows: 1. The Clerk is ordered to permanently seal the documents filed at ROA 1501, 1502, 1516, and 1517. 2. Cross-Complainant First Foundation Bank (“FFB”) is ordered to file public, redacted versions of the foregoing documents. 3. As to ROAs 1502 and 1517 (each a Declaration of Edward O. Morales), FFB is to file public, redacted versions that omit Exhibits 9, 10, 11, 12, 21, and 22, and redact Exhibits...

Excerpt: ...y adjudicated against him. Similarly, named plaintiffs Rodriguez and Gama settled their PAGA claims on an individual basis and are excluded from the class. The only settling plaintiff who has a potential PAGA claim is Kles. While counsel has provided Kles's letter to the LWDA in a supplemental declaration, this does not change the fact that Kles, unlike the Rodriguez plaintiffs, never filed a complaint that included a PAGA claim against R.J. Nobl...

Excerpt: ...proposed cross-complaint attached to the Lemen Declaration as Exhibit A on or before September 20, 2019. Grounds for Ruling Plaintiffs are three former employees of defendant Uni-Caps, LLC, who were terminated on March 6, 2014, after they complained to Defendant and the DFEH about alleged FEHA violations by defendant. Plaintiffs bring this action alleging defendant violated wage and hour laws and discriminated against plaintiffs who are of Korean...

Excerpt: ... The subpoenas are QUASHED in all other respects. This is a PAGA-only action in which Plaintiff, on behalf of herself and other aggrieved employees of Rubio's, alleges violations of Labor Code provisions relating to minimum wages, meal and rest breaks, wage statements, waiting time and recordkeeping. On July 12, 2019, Rubio's served identical subpoenas on two of Plaintiff's former employers, Forever 21 and K-Mart. The subpoenas each seek: [A]ny a...

Excerpt: ...2019. If a revised settlement agreement and/or class notice is submitted, a redline showing all changes, deletions and additions must be submitted as well. As to the Settlement: 1. Counsel declares that the motion and supporting papers will be served on the LWDA (Quintilone Decl., ¶ 11), but there is no proof of service. 2. Please provide copies of each named Plaintiff's prefiling letter to the LWDA so the court can evaluate compliance with the ...

Excerpt: ...ng Center, Nabhan Simaan and Yola Simaan have agreed to indemnify Respondents for any fees that may be awarded to Petitioner. Grounds for Ruling I. Evidentiary Matters Real Parties' unopposed request for judicial notice is GRANTED. Items 2-4 of Petitioner's request for judicial notice are GRANTED. The request is DENIED as to Item 1, the terms of service of OneLegal, a legal services provider, obtained from the OneLegal website. This document does...

Excerpt: ...2019. If a revised settlement agreement and/or class notice is submitted, a redline showing all changes, deletions, and additions must be submitted as well. As to the Settlement: 1. The Court previously denied certification in this matter on the grounds that a class was not ascertainable and that commonality was lacking. From the Court's review of the papers, the only apparent change from the November 2017 denial of certification to today is that...

Excerpt: ...A.'s Motion for Further Direction Under the Court's October 26 and November 18,2018 Orders Motions #1 and #3 Only are Continued to 9/13/19 at 9:00am in CX104 by Stipulation. Motion #2 is Going Forward. Defendant San Miguel Equities, LLC's motion to seal Exhibit B to the Declaration of Greg Gilroy, conditionally lodged under seal on July 29, 2019 (ROA 1512), is DENIED. The clerk is ordered to file this document in the public record. On July 29, 20...

Excerpt: ...y Ford cases for which she was designated as an expert witness. In addition, as the Court stated on the record at the August 23, 2019 hearing on Plaintiffs' motion for attorney's fees, Plaintiffs are entitled to recover the fees incurred in successfully opposing Ford's motion to tax costs. Plaintiffs are therefore awarded $5,015 in attorney's fees. Plaintiffs have filed objections to the Declaration of Daniell K. Newman. Objections 1, 2 and 4 are...

Excerpt: ...) He brings a putative wage- and-hour class action on behalf of all non-exempt employees who worked for Defendant at any time in the four years before the case was filed. (Id., ¶ 4.) The complaint alleges six causes of action: principal claims for overtime violations, meal period violations, and rest period violations, as well as derivative claims for wage statement violations, UCL violations, and PAGA. Defendant demurs on two grounds: that the ...

Excerpt: ...scription information from another source. However, insofar as Defendants seek to prevent Plaintiffs from seeking information about Ms. Callaway's alleged use of pain- killing narcotics through other means (i.e., at her upcoming deposition), the Court declines to rule at this time. GROUNDS FOR RULING I. Factual Background This legal malpractice action centers on legal advice Ms. Callaway provided concerning the structuring of Plaintiffs' direct c...

Excerpt: ...scription information from another source. However, insofar as Defendants seek to prevent Plaintiffs from seeking information about Ms. Callaway's alleged use of pain- killing narcotics through other means (i.e., at her upcoming deposition), the Court declines to rule at this time. GROUNDS FOR RULING I. Factual Background This legal malpractice action centers on legal advice Ms. Callaway provided concerning the structuring of Plaintiffs' direct c...

Excerpt: ...luded 538 employees, but Defendant's discovery responses indicated that 34% of the class was “severed,” leaving 355 employees. Counsel's damages analysis is based on workweeks, and the number of workweeks is determined in reference to these 355 employees. However, per the amended Joint Stipulation of Settlement (Supp. Campbell Decl., Exhs. 1, 3), the class still numbers 538. (Id., § 3.04(e).) Does the class actually number 355 rather than 53...

Excerpt: ...) He brings a putative wage- and-hour class action on behalf of all non-exempt employees who worked for Defendant at any time in the four years before the case was filed. (Id., ¶ 4.) The complaint alleges six causes of action: principal claims for overtime violations, meal period violations, and rest period violations, as well as derivative claims for wage statement violations, UCL violations, and PAGA. Defendant demurs on two grounds: that the ...

Excerpt: ... failed to exhaust administrative remedies as to Supercuts. Evidentiary Issues I. Defendants' Request for Judicial Notice Defendants seek judicial notice of Plaintiffs' LWDA letters. (RJN, Exs. A-B.) The basis for this request is CCP § 452(c), which permits judicial notice of “official acts” of a government agency. While Plaintiffs' letters to the LWDA may no doubt found in the LWDA's files, they are not “acts” of the LWDA. However, as P...

Excerpt: ...4 to be considered at the same time as Defendant Ford's motion to tax costs. Evidentiary Objections I. Plaintiffs' Objections Plaintiffs have filed six objections to the Declaration of Daniell K. Newman. Objection No. 1 is SUSTAINED on relevance, foundation and hearsay grounds and OVERRULED on all other grounds. The Court has not considered Exhibit 1 to the Newman Declaration in ruling upon this motion. Objections No. 2-6 are OVERRULED. II. Ford'...

Excerpt: ...onnie Ortloff). (ROA 65.) Defendant's motion was based on an arbitration agreement contained in storage unit leases. While the Non- Signatory Plaintiffs were not party to these leases, the other named plaintiffs (“Signatory Plaintiffs”) were parties to the leases, and both the Signatory Plaintiffs and the Non- Signatory Plaintiffs alike sued for breach of the leases. The Court ordered the Signatory Plaintiffs to arbitration based on the arbit...

Excerpt: ... The demurrer is OVERRULED as to Plaintiff's seventh cause of action for violation of Labor Code § 226(a). 3. The demurrer is OVERRULED AS MOOT as to Plaintiff's eleventh cause of action for PAGA, and this claim is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE at Plaintiff's request. Defendant's motion to strike portions of Plaintiff's complaint is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART as set forth below: 1. As to item 1 in the notice of motion, the motion to strike...

Excerpt: ...nt initial case management statement filed on August 2, 2019. While AAG objects to this request, CCP § 453 requires the Court to take judicial notice upon a request that complies with the statute, as Plaintiffs' request does here. AAG's objection is OVERRULED and the request for judicial notice is GRANTED, as the case management statement is properly noticeable under CCP § 452(d). AAG correctly notes, however, that the Court may not take judici...

Excerpt: ...te Aerospace, Inc. is DENIED as set forth below. Adams Rite's Opposition Plaintiff argues that the Court should disregard the opposition because of late service. Because Plaintiff had the opportunity to brief a full reply on the merits and declined Adams Rite's offer to continue the hearing, the Court will exercise its discretion to consider Adams Rite's opposition. (See Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.1300(d).) Grounds for Ruling I. Factual Backgrou...

Excerpt: ...ntiff's claims against Defendants, reached at a mandatory settlement conference on April 13, 2018. In consideration for Plaintiff dismissing his case and providing a general release of his claims, Defendants, jointly and severally, agreed to pay Plaintiff a total of $36,600 according to the following schedule: 1. $5,000 on or before May 14, 2018; 2. $5,000 on or before November 14, 2019; 3. $5,000 on or before May 14, 2021; and 4. Beginning June ...

Excerpt: ... on T&J's property is DENIED. EVIDENTIARY AND PROCEDURAL ISSUES I. T&J's Request for Judicial Notice T&J requests judicial notice of four documents, attached to T&J's evidence as Exhibits 1-4: 1. The Court's tentative ruling of December 21, 2018 2. Plaintiff's FAC, filed January 8, 2019 3. Notice of Errata to Plaintiff's FAC, filed January 9, 2019 4. ACI 318 Table 4.3.1, contained on the second page of Bondy, Code Requirements for Sulfate Durabil...

Excerpt: ... below: 1. Cross-Complainant Sean Bose's class allegations are dismissed without prejudice. 2. The first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth causes of action in Bose's FAXC are ordered to arbitration on an individual basis. 3. The seventh cause of action (UCL violations) is ordered to arbitration on an individual basis insofar as Bose claims unjust enrichment, disgorgement or restitution. The seventh ...

Excerpt: ... for Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction, or in the Alternative, to Dismiss or Stay in Light of the Primary Jurisdiction of the State Water Board Sabic Innovative Plastics US, LLC's and General Electric Company's Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction, or in the Alternative, to Dismiss or Stay in Light of the Primary Jurisdiction of the State Water Board, and the joinder in that motion by ICI Americas, Inc. and Beatrice Compani...

Excerpt: ...ings as they currently stand. At the hearing on this motion, however, Plaintiff shall state on the record whether he waives his claims for underpaid wages and any other individualized relief. If Plaintiff agrees to such a waiver, then the motion will be denied. I. Factual Background Plaintiff was employed by TIC-AC as a Service Technician and Assistant Service Manager at two TIC-affiliated apartment properties in Mission Valley, California. (Comp...

Excerpt: ...s of concern. Any supplemental briefing shall be filed on or before September 3, 2019. If a revised settlement agreement and/or class notice is submitted, a redline showing all changes, deletions, and additions must be submitted as well. As to the Settlement: 1. The class period for Laborers begins on December 20, 2012 because, per the Rodriguez FAC, the parties entered into a tolling agreement on December 20, 2016. Per the Kles complaint, an ide...

Excerpt: ...ck's desire to take discovery from non-party Sound Point relating to an offering of securities by Gruppo Waste Italia S.p.A. (“Waste Italia”). Rimrock purchased certain of those securities from Defendants and alleges that Jeffries' representations made in connection with the marketing of the securities violated California's Blue Sky laws. In its moving papers, Rimrock states that in the course of Waste Italia's concordato proceedings (the Ita...

Excerpt: ...fenses to be bifurcated, not the propriety of bifurcation itself. Insofar as the motion concerns Defendants Gary Kanter and Denise Stiles-Kanter's (referred to as “Gary” and “Denise” for clarity) fourth affirmative defense (entitled “Indemnity and Contribution”) that Armony's claims are barred by operation of Paragraph 9 of a January 2011 agreement between Armony and Gary (the “Mediation Agreement”), the Court is inclined to treat...

Excerpt: ...ntly stand. At the hearing on this motion, however, Plaintiff shall state on the record whether he waives his claims for underpaid wages and any other individualized relief. If Plaintiff agrees to such a waiver, then the motion will be denied. I. Factual Background Plaintiff was employed by TIC-AC as a Service Technician and Assistant Service Manager at two TIC-affiliated apartment properties in Mission Valley, California. (Compl. (ROA 2), ¶ 6; ...

Excerpt: ...to the consideration of such motions in the Individual Actions. Coyote Grill's request to disqualify Jose Garay, APLC (the “Garay firm”) in this action, made for the first time on reply, is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE to refiling a properly noticed motion to disqualify. Grounds for Ruling I. Requests for Judicial Notice Coyote Grill requests judicial notice of various documents filed in support of both its opening papers and its reply. (See ROA ...

Excerpt: ...timony of nine Ford employees taken in other matters. The Court has not yet ruled on this motion, although in other related cases pending in Orange County Superior Court, substantially identical motions in limine have resulted in some, but not all, of this testimony being held inadmissible. The present dispute focuses on the writ petition pending before the Court of Appeal, Second District, Division One in Berroteran v. Superior Court (B296639) (...

Excerpt: ...owner's insurance policies. Plaintiff alleges that his home was damaged by smoke and soot as a result of the Holy Fire in August 2018. (Compl. ¶¶ 15-16.) Plaintiff does not allege that his home was actually damaged by flames, only smoke, soot, etc. His homeowner's insurance policy has a Wildfire Smoke Sublimit that limits coverage to smoke damage from wildfires to $2,500 if a claim is not made within 45 days. (Compl. Ex. 1, at 5.) Plaintiff all...

Excerpt: ...n for attorney's fees as the prevailing party at trial, pending the outcome of related proceedings instituted by Newport Crest in Plaintiff's bankruptcy case. (See ROA 1464.) On March 13, 2018, the Court, having been informed that the bankruptcy case was pending before the Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel, extended the stay “until a ruling is made by the Bankruptcy Court Appellate Panel.” (ROA 1496.) Meanwhile, on January 22, 2019, th...

Excerpt: ... was filed and electronically served on June 4, 2019 (ROA 1065), Plaintiff's opposition was not filed until July 10, 2019 (ROA 1097.) The opposition was due 10 days after the JNOV papers were filed, or June 14, 2019. (See CCP §§ 629(b), 659a.) Plaintiff's opposition was thus 26 days late. This is more than sufficient reason for the Court to refuse to consider the opposition at all (see Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.1300(d)), but in light of the p...

Excerpt: ... is submitted, a redline version showing all changes, deletions and additions shall be submitted as well. As set forth below, the Court continues to have serious concerns about how carefully the settlement materials were drafted and whether the settlement is reasonable. Furthermore, the Court notes that a number of key items in its prior minute order on this matter (ROA 83) appear not to have been addressed at all in Plaintiff's supplemental brie...

Excerpt: ...cond, third, fifth and sixth causes of action are time-barred, summary adjudication is GRANTED as to the first and second causes of action (negligence and breach of fiduciary duty) and DENIED as to the remaining causes of action (fraud, equitable indemnity and contribution). In light of this ruling on Issue No. 6, the motion for summary adjudication is DENIED AS MOOT as to Issues No. 1 and 2. The remainder of Cross-Defendants' motion for summary ...

Excerpt: ... set aside said default earlier, was caused by his own mistake. Counsel admits that he mistakenly failed to draft a stipulation to set aside the default, that he misunderstood a February 2019 request for dismissal to apply to his client, and that he failed to follow up with WRW's counsel on the need for a stipulation or a proposed answer. (Arsenian Decl. ¶¶ 13-14.) In light of counsel's admission of fault, relief from default is mandatory, not ...

Excerpt: ...y the California Labor Code, including, inter alia, section 226; i. Whether Defendants kept complete and accurate payroll records as required by the California Labor Code, including, inter alia, section 1174(d).” 3. Paragraphs 33 and 34 of the complaint, in their entirety. 4. Paragraphs 42 and 43 of the complaint, in their entirety. 5. At page 10, line 18: “or penalty.” 6. Paragraphs 57 and 58 of the complaint, in their entirety. 7. At page...

Excerpt: ...laint (“SAC”) of Plaintiff T-12 Three, LLC is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART for the reasons set forth below. The Court also DENIES Turner's request for attorney's fees. The Court recognizes that the amendments to the SAC go beyond the scope permitted in the April 26, 2019 minute order granting T-12 leave to amend. As the Court has previously stated, however, motions relating to the pleadings in this matter that elevate form over substanc...

Excerpt: ... non-exempt employees who worked for Mitchell International, Inc., within the State of California at any time during the period from April 5, 2013, to a date to be determined based on the notice and opt-out period. The Court granted certification only as to Plaintiff's seventh and tenth causes of action (Labor Code § 226(a) and Business & Professions Code § 17200), and only on the theory that wage statements provided by Defendant to putative cl...

Excerpt: ...tion project in San Diego. 5 th Rock now seeks to file a third amended cross-complaint that adds a Business & Professions Code § 17200 based on the same overbilling allegations. A. Relation Back While the Court has broad discretion to grant leave to amend, it cannot grant leave to amend to add a cause of action on which the statute of limitations has run. The statute of limitations for a § 17200 claim is four years (Bus. & Prof. Code, §17208),...

Excerpt: ... is GRANTED. Plaintiffs seek to compel a response to their Special Interrogatory No. 3, which provides: IDENTIFY each and every AGGRIEVED EMPLOYEE employed by YOU during the RELEVANT TIME PERIOD. (As used in these interrogatories, the terms "DEFENDANT," "DEFENDANTS," "YOU," or "YOUR," all mean and refer to Defendant IEC CORPORATION WHICH WILL DO BUSINESS IN CALIFORNIA AS INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION CORPORATION, and shall also include all current or f...

Excerpt: ...ckson Lewis, P.C. are jointly ordered to pay sanctions to Plaintiff in the amounts set forth in the tentative rulings by August 12, 2019. Defendant moves to compel arbitration of Plaintiff's claims on an individual basis and to dismiss or stay the remainder of the case pending the outcome of the arbitration proceeding. As an initial matter, although neither party appears to have addressed the issue, the Court notes that Plaintiff's PAGA cause of ...

Excerpt: ...tions of Labor Code sections 201-203, 204, 226, 226.3, 226.7, 516, 558, 1174, 1174.5, 1175, 1182.12, 1194, 1194.2, 1197, 1198, 2800, and 2802 and applicable IWC Wage Orders. (Compl. ¶¶ 24-35 [ROA 2].) He seeks solely civil penalties under PAGA and does not pray for recovery of unpaid wages. (Id. at Prayer for Relief, ¶ 1.) Defendants move to dismiss Plaintiff's “representative PAGA claims,” order his “individual claims against Defendants...

Excerpt: ...ontribution from a number of alleged subcontractors, including Porter's. (ROA 22.) The Liedle firm was retained by the third-party administrator of Porter's insurance plan to represent Porter's. (Larson Decl. ¶ 2.) On May 17, 2019, the Liedle firm filed an answer to the cross- complaint on Porter's behalf. (ROA 111.) Counsel now declares that “[s]ince the filing of Porter's answer, we have become aware that coverage for Porter's was denied.”...

Excerpt: ...shall be filed on or before August 14, 2019. If a revised settlement agreement and/or notice is submitted, a redline showing all changes, deletions, and additions must be submitted as well. 1. The Settlement and Release (“SAR”) recites, and all parties agree, that there are 30 aggrieved employees. Plaintiffs' moving papers and Defendants' joinder papers say that Defendants determined this to be the number, yet there is no explanation of how i...

Excerpt: ... well. 1. In its May 3, 2019 minute order, the Court noted that the aggrieved employees' release “may not extend to future claims by aggrieved employees for wages and other ‘victim-specific' remedies, even those that can be characterized as part of a ‘civil penalty' recoverable under Labor Code § 558 and that are recovered as part of the settlement of this action.” (ROA 22.) Section 4 of the revised settlement agreement nonetheless relea...